5.  The applicants were born in 1975, 1953, 1969 and 1981 respectively, live in Pepeni, Chişinău, Ungheni and Chişinău respectively and are all members of Hyde Park, a Chişinău-based non-governmental organisation.
6.  On 27 March 2008 the first and the fourth applicants participated in a public gathering in the Stefan cel Mare park in Chişinău on the occasion of the anniversary of the 1918 reunification of Bessarabia with Romania. The demonstration had been authorised by the Chişinău Municipality. At approximately 11.30 a.m. the applicants were arrested and taken to the police station, where they were charged with resisting arrest and insulting police officers.
7.  In a video filmed by the applicants, one of the police officers can be seen requesting identity papers from one of the participants in the demonstration. After the identity card is presented to the police officer, one of the police officers orders the applicants to follow him to the police station and the applicants comply without any resistance. The applicants were released several hours later.
8.  On 26 May 2008 the Buiucani District Court finally acquitted the applicants of all charges in view of a lack of evidence against them. The court found that the accusations made against the applicants were groundless as they were not confirmed by any of the witnesses.
9.  On an unspecified date one of the applicants lodged a criminal complaint against the police officers who had arrested them. However, on 30 May 2008 the complaint was dismissed as manifestly ill-founded.
10.  On 22 April 2008 a new Assemblies Act entered into force under which no authorisation was needed for spontaneous gatherings and for gatherings with a limited number of participants. On the same date, at approximately 10.40 a.m., the first, second and fourth applicants organised a demonstration in front of the residence of the President of Moldova. According to them, they intended to express their joy at the entering into force of the new Assemblies Act and to encourage the people to assemble freely. After a short time the applicants were approached by several police officers who ordered them to leave. The applicants refused and argued that according to the new law they had a right to protest peacefully without any authorisation. Later the applicants were arrested and taken to the police station. They were held for several hours and charged with the offences of holding an unauthorised demonstration, resisting arrest and insulting police officers.
11.  On 8 May 2008 the Buiucani District Court acquitted the applicants of all charges in view of a lack of incriminating evidence against them. The court found that the applicants had a legal right to protest in front of the residence of the President of Moldova without any authorisation and that the charges concerning resisting and insulting police officers were groundless.
12.  On an unspecified date the applicants lodged a criminal complaint against the police officers who had arrested them. However, it was dismissed as manifestly ill-founded.
13.  On 30 April 2008 the National Television company organised a celebration on the occasion of its fiftieth anniversary. A member of Hyde Park, O.B., who is not an applicant in this case, attempted to protest against censorship at National Television in front of the concert hall in which the celebration was taking place. He was draped in a banner bearing the inscription “50 years of lies” and was accompanied by the first, second and third applicants, one of whom was filming the event.
14.  After approaching the concert hall, O.B. was approached by a group of police officers who surrounded him and ordered him to vacate the premises of the concert hall. O.B. and the three applicants entered into a verbal clash with the police officers and refused to leave. They argued that they had the right to protest and that the actions of the police were unlawful. After several minutes of dispute O.B. was physically attacked by a person in plain clothes. O.B. and the applicants requested the assistance of the police and shouted that the attack had been provoked by the police. They were immediately arrested and taken to the police station, where they were charged with the offences of holding an unauthorised demonstration, resisting arrest and insulting police officers. They were released several hours later.
15.  On 18 June 2008 all the applicants and O.B. were finally acquitted by the Chişinău Court of Appeal of all charges in view of a lack of incriminating evidence against them. The court reached this conclusion after viewing the video of the event and concluding that the applicants’ demonstration had been peaceful and that they had been attacked by a another individual.
16.  On an unspecified date the applicants lodged a criminal complaint against the police officers who had arrested them. However, it was dismissed as manifestly ill-founded.
17.  In December 2008 the Government decided to celebrate Christmas exclusively on 7 January, according to the old religious calendar, and to have a Christmas tree installed in the central square of Chişinău only in the last few days of December so as to bypass the celebration of Christmas on 25 December by the adherents of the new religious calendar.
18.  In spite of that decision the Chişinău local government, which was represented by a political majority different from that of the central Government, decided to install a Christmas tree in the middle of December and to organise celebrations on the occasion of the new religious calendar Christmas. On 16 December 2008 a truck transporting the municipality’s Christmas tree was stopped by the police and the tree was confiscated.
19.  In the morning of 18 December 2008 a group of Hyde Park members, including the first and second applicants, attempted to organise a protest demonstration in front of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in order to express their concern about the actions of the police. The first applicant was arrested on the street while walking towards the building of the Ministry of Internal Affairs carrying a small Christmas tree. He was taken to the police station and charged with the offence of organising an unauthorised demonstration. He was released several hours later. The second applicant was near a trolleybus stop when a group of six plain-clothes police officers forced him into a trolleybus. They cornered him and, in spite of his protests, released him only approximately eight minutes and several stops later. The applicants submitted a video of this.
20.  On 18 December 2008 the first applicant was acquitted in view of a lack of incriminating evidence against him.
21.  On an unspecified date the first and second applicants lodged a criminal complaint against the police officers. However, on 2 February 2009 the complaint was dismissed as manifestly ill-founded.
22.  On 3 February 2009 the first applicant organised a protest demonstration in front of the Prosecutor General’s Office together with approximately twenty participants who are not applicants in this case. The aim of the demonstration was to denounce the inaction of the Prosecutor General’s Office in connection with abuses by the police. Several minutes after the beginning of the demonstration the protesters were attacked by seven men wearing masks, who started to beat them up and spray them with tear gas. The protesters defended themselves and managed to immobilise two attackers. One of the attackers admitted to having been paid 1,000 Moldovan lei (MDL) by an unknown person to participate in the attack. A police unit patrolling nearby did not intervene to put an end to the clash between the protesters and the attackers. The protesters called the police and requested the assistance of the police officers who were guarding the Prosecutor General’s Office, but to no avail.
23.  According to the applicants, the organisers of the demonstration lodged a criminal complaint with the Prosecutor General’s Office; however, no action was taken. The applicants were unable to present proof that they had lodged the complaint and argued that the relevant documents had been seized by the police on the occasion of an unlawful search of Hyde Park’s premises.
24.  The Government disputed that the applicants had complained to the Prosecutor’s Office in respect of the events of 3 February 2009.